Family Is Forever
by GhostiesandGhoulies
Summary: Michelangelo has finally finished the last painting that is to be a gift to his family. He couldn't wait to show them once it dried, but would he ever get the chance to? When a regular night on patrol goes sour, the question of survival comes up for the youngest. Mikey fights but will his body give out before his will does? Will his family ever see his most precious gift to them?


**These one-shot plot bunnies will not stop mating. They are never ending! Oh well I suppose that's good news for me huh. This one may require tissues!**

**As I always say: Hope you enjoy!**

**TMNT belongs to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, not I.**

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Giving a wipe of his brow with the back of his hand, Michelangelo took a step back to admire the painting he had finally finished. The idea had come to him during one of his day dreams and the image had been so solid in his mind that sketching it out and eventually giving it life with his paints later proved to be an easy process. With eyes full of scrutiny, he looked over every inch of the painting, making quick work of any small flaws he found. It was to be a surprise gift to his family which is why he had spent so much time on getting every detail as precise as he could. Or why he had spent so much time on it. Upon looking at the finished product he decided that all the time and effort had been worth it.

He smiled proudly and exited the room to clean his paint stained hands, making sure his door was closed as he left. On the way he bumped into his tech head brother and laughed at the ridiculous set of magnifying glasses the other had, "Been working on your projects again Donny?"

The purple banded turtle quirked a brow and then quickly snatched the glasses from his face with flushed cheeks, "Oh you know.. this and that." He observed the younger with a smirk, "I could say the same for you Paint Master."

Mikey grinned brilliantly and worked around the other, "Don't you know it! It was a big job this time but I finally finished it - I can't wait to reveal it to you all once it finally dries... No peeking Donny!"

Donatello raised his hands in mock surrender, "Yes your majesty, I shall await the grand reveal."

With a not of approval, Mikey entered the bathroom to clean up. Don gave a shake of his head and worked towards his lab.

After having freshened up, Michelangelo returned to his room to tidy up all of his supplies and place the painting strategically so that he could lead his family into his room and have them see it clearly. He smiled once he had placed it in a suitable location, set upon his favorite easel until the reveal once it had dried. Reaching into a drawer he always made sure he kept tidy, he pulled out several more works he had done and set them up around the larger painting. While the large painting was his pride and joy, it was only one in the set of works he had done.

Upon placing the final one, he stepped back and observed the scene. He felt a swell of pride at the group of paintings. The large one he had finished was the centerpiece, the others were smaller painting meant to make a frame of sorts around the main piece. The smaller ones contained individuals while the large one contained a group subjects.

With a cheesy smile he reached around and patted himself on the shell, "Sometimes I impress myself," he murmured. He sat on his bed and continued to observe in silence, merely appreciating the hard work he had put into each painting. He was only vaguely aware of the passage of time as he did so.

"MIKEY TIME FOR PATROL," a voice called from the living room.

His blue eyes shot to the clock and noted that it was indeed time for their nightly patrol. He stood back and observed the scene once more before smiling and grabbing his beloved nunchucks from his nightstand and leaving his room. The door slid shut gently behind him as he left, closing off his room from the outside world.

The turtles quickly headed to the surface and leaped into the nightly routine of surveying the city and taking care of any situations that might arise along the way. They quickly handed the bag thieves and attempted break-ins and diffused other normal situations with ease. It had become so routine that every single problem that arose felt like child's play to them all.

Mikey gave a sigh as they continued on, "Well tonight is boring," he commented dryly. "Seems like it's just usual things nowadays, nothing new ever happens anymore," he continued, "this job is getting monotonous."

"Ooh Mike's usin' big words tonight," Raph teased playfully.

The orange banded turtle stuck out his tongue at the other indignantly.

In the front Leonardo gave a roll of his eyes, "It's not necessarily a bad thing Mikey, it means there's no crazy idiots stirring up huge troubles which is kind of a nice change of pace."

"But only for so long," the youngest retorted in a bored tone of voice.

"Oh shush now," Donatello finally cut in, "having no serious situations definitely isn't a bad thing."

With a small sigh, Mikey lapsed once more into silence.

Suddenly Leonardo halted mid-rooftop and held up a fist to the others, a signal for silence.

The four brothers waited with bated breath, listening for anything irregular. A few minutes passed and they heard nothing.

"Leo," Mikey whispered very quietly, "what's up?" He kept his eyes searching for anything out of the ordinary as he asked but continued to see and hear absolutely nothing.

The eldest turned to them and held a finger to his lips, eyes narrowed and trained to the left. He pointed that way silently and began creeping that direction. He didn't have to turn to know his brothers had followed his example and were following after him.

Mikey held up the rear, keeping his back turned away from their make shift group, eyes gazing into the darkness warily. Something didn't feel quite right. He quietly pulled out his nunchucks and held them at the ready but did not swing them so as to keep the silence. He turned halfway to peer at his brothers and that's when he sensed it. With reflexes that surprised even himself he held up his nunchucks in a defensive position and was catching a katana mid swing. A breath of air escaped his lips as it happened, the mere speed of his adversary enough to take his breath away.

"I don't think so," he growled as he knocked the katana wielding enemy away. He didn't have to look to know his brothers were pulling out their own weapons, he could hear it. Mikey refused to look away from their company, afraid what might happen should he turn away again. "What happens now," he questioned, "what do you want?"

The figure was dressed in all black, even their hair was black. Their katana was sharp and held an eerie glow in the moonlight. They stood in a defensive position, head low and dark eyes observant of every little movement.

"Who are you," Leo questioned after they received no answer. Honestly he hadn't been expecting a response.

"Our identities are unimportant," the figure replied in a low baritone voice, "you need only know that our mission is to bring down the one known as Michelangelo."

Immediately Leo, Don and Raph all stepped in front of Mikey. Their eyes were hard and threatening, daring the other to make a move.

Mikey peered over his brothers' shoulders, "Wait, you said 'our mission'...? Aren't you alone dude?"

A dark chuckle emerged from the man as he gave a low whistle. It was a signal to the others, apparently. Dozens of similarly dressed figures emerged from the surrounding areas, stepping out of the darkness to reveal themselves. They were quickly surrounded.

"Oh guys..." Mikey murmured nervously, "we might have our work cut out for us..."

"Heh ya make it sound kinda like a challenge there bro," Raphael commented, glancing around.

Donny shifted slightly and angled himself towards a different section of their enemies, "Well.. it could be. I guess we'll see. Hey you got your wish for something 'exciting' Mikey, you happy? Can we continue on with the monotonous routine now?"

Their adversaries began closing in slowly but surely.

"Sure," the orange banded turtle replied with a nervous gulp.

"Don't worry about that right now," Leo hissed, "focus on this fight and staying out of harm's way. If you need help, call it out. We'll probably need to work together to get through this."

The other three nodded in agreement, deciding to follow their leader's advice for once.

"Do what is necessary to take down the youngest," the apparent leader of the group announced, "rid of anything that gets in the way of the mission." He gave some sort of signal and suddenly the fight was on.

With battle cries the four turtles leapt into the fray, the eldest three being sure to linger close to the youngest so as to step in if and when they were needed. The sound of battle soon filled the air, clangs of steel against steel, thumps as wood met various things whether it be a body part of other weapons. Their foes were trained well and fought hard, not going down without quite a fight.

Leonardo and Raphael struck down their enemies without mercy, not caring if they accidentally killed or not. The only thing on their minds was to protect and that's all that mattered. Donatello worked with the duo, blocking off attacks more than striking so as to give his elder two siblings a chance to take more down. Michelangelo merely did all he could to avoid being hit as their foes were particularly vicious with him.

The fighting continued and while nothing severe, the brothers were beginning to take hits. The mild fatigue that had begun settling in helped nothing about the situation either. Yet they fought on, feeling strengthened when the numbers of their enemies began to dwindle. With teamwork and sheer effort they helped each other to take down the last.

They stood panting in the wake of their battle, remaining in defensive positions as they waited for anything more.

Michelangelo was the first to relax his stance, "So that was hard."

"Yeah, good work out," Raph replied sarcastically, "but is dat it? We done 'ere?"

"I don't trust it," Leo replied, still tense, "it almost seemed too simple."

Donny scoffed, "I dunno about you but that was _not_ simple by any standards. I agree it seemed too abrupt an end though."

The relative silence of the area was broken by a choked gasp.

The three whipped around and stared dumbfounded at what they saw. Michelangelo stood with wide eyes, blood spilling from out of his mouth. A katana stuck out of his plastron, very near to his heart. He had been stabbed.

"M-Mikey," Donatello whispered in utter shock.

Suddenly the blade was ripped from it's spot, disappearing through his plastron.

The youngest jolted forward, hands going to his wound as he fell to his knees.

"MIKEY!"

Donatello shot to his brother, laying the other down while digging out his emergency med kit from his bag. Leonardo helped him, supporting Mikey's head in his arms. Raphael stared in shock before giving a guttural roar and racing towards the leader of their defeated foes with his blades at the ready. He showed no mercy as he took the other down, anguish and anger clouding his better judgment about having carried out as he had. He only felt mildly satisfied in the other's death. Then he dropped his bloodied sais and raced back to his brothers.

Mikey lay gasping and choking as Donatello worked frantically to try and bandage the ugly wound and stem the bleeding.

Don's thoughts were panicked as he moved desperately, "Stay with me Mikey! Stay awake and focus!"

Leo seemed to snap from his daze enough to try and distract the other from his obvious pain, "Mikey, focus on breathing and me.. Don't worry about what Don is doing.. o-okay? J-Just focus for me..." His voice cracked in grief.

Raphael hovered nearby, looking utterly helpless.

Several gauze pads were placed and immediately stained with blood that was beginning to pool beneath the youngest. Donny's eyes began filling with tears as he continued working, despite the knowledge of the wound. It had been a killing blow. Even if he had access to emergency medical equipment and a full hospital staff he couldn't hope to save the other. Finally it seemed to process and he stopped, tears rolling down his cheeks..

Leonardo and Raphael looked frantically to their purple banded brother, eyes and body language anxious.

Michelangelo continued to gasp and cough but grabbed Don's hand, "I-It's okay Donny.." he said hoarsely, "I k-know you can't do a-anything..."

"What do you m-mean," Leo asked shakily, "Donny why did you stop?!"

"I... I can't..."

"What," Raph exploded, "can't focus?! Dammit then lemme try! Don't ya give up Don! Don't ya dare!"

Donatello glared through his tears, "NO RAPH I CAN'T SAVE HIM!"

Everything quieted, the only sounds being of Mikey's pained breaths and Donny's soft cries.

"I-I can't help him..." he murmured brokenly, "it was a k-killing blow... I can't.." A hand on his arm made him stop and look up.

"N-No you can't," Mikey managed with a small and pained smile, "b-but you gave it a s-shot.. eh Donny?"

"Don't talk like t-that," Leo reprimanded weakly, grip tightening on his youngest sibling, "please... just don't give up Mikey.."

His blue eyes filled with tears as he smiled again, "N-Never would dream of it bro.. b-but my body is giving u-up on me. I can f-feel it."

Raph collapsed to his knees as rough sobs escaped him.

They huddled around the youngest as he fought to continue breathing. The terrifying prospect lay before them, one they had never even wanted to imagine. Mikey was dying and they could do nothing about it. They all were crying.

Mikey had allowed his eyes to fall shut but he reopened them to peer up at his brothers, "Tell D-Daddy I love him..?"

"Of course," Donny replied with a sob.

"Don't be r-reckless...?"

"We p-promise," Leo swore firmly, despite his own trembling and cries.

"And s-support each other..." Mikey ordered weakly, "d-don't let anything tear you a-apart.. not even t-this."

"Never," Raph agreed, voice thick with emotion.

Mikey seemed to relax at that, "Good..." He smiled up at them lovingly, eyebrows knit with pain. "L-Love you bros.." he whispered.

"We love y-you too," Donny replied, placing a hand on the other's arm. Raphael and Leonardo followed suit and nodded in agreement.

They watched with broken hearts as those brilliant sky blue eyes gave a twinkle of reassurance before they slid shut for the last time. Mikey gave one more shuddering breath but nothing followed.

Donatello broke into gut wrenching sobs thereafter, falling into Raphael. Leonardo cradled his baby brother's broken body to his chest, tears running down his face. Raphael numbly placed an arm over his younger brother's shoulders, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Much later that night, when they had collected themselves enough to make the journey back to the lair, they returned. Hearts and spirits broken as they took the lifeless body of the youngest home to their father who had been awaiting them. More grief filled sorrow filled the air as they wept out the loss of the baby of the family. April, Casey and Leatherhead were informed later on, they too came to mourn the loss. Even the family pets Klunk and Spike seemed to feel the great loss and came to grieve with the family.

By the end of the week they had cremated Michelangelo's body, having spread the ashes into the ocean that the youngest had always observed and admired. It took them weeks until they finally felt ready to once again venture out onto a patrol. They kept up Mikey's last wishes, staying safe and pulling out when they felt overwhelmed by a situation. They weren't reckless with their lives because Mikey's death had proved to them how easily it could be taken from them. They helped each other through the grieving process and settled any arguments or disagreements. Mikey's nunchucks sat upon a pedestal in Splinter's room with his orange bandana tied around them carefully.

It took them two months before they felt ready to venture into Mikey's old room. They did so reluctantly but as a family, knowing they'd need each other to have the strength to enter. The sight they were met with warmed their hearts but brought tears to their eyes.

Donatello was the first to step forward, "He had told me that he had finished a painting.. said he couldn't wait to show it to us..."

"It's beautiful," April breathed. Beside her Casey nodded wordlessly.

"Yeah Mike always had a way of catchin' things," Raphael commented with a genuine smile, his beloved turtle Spike on his shoulder.

Splinter strode forward and placed a paw on the center painting gently, "It was perhaps his greatest talent besides ninjutsu.. The ability to capture things as he saw them and create such works of art. Even while having passed on his gift remains... Thank you, my son. You must've been proud of this and rightly so..." He stepped back away to observe the many pieces respectfully.

Leatherhead absently stroked Klunk behind his ears as he gazed in wonder at the paintings.

"It's his last gift to us," Leonardo said finally, "something that we can always hold dear to us and cherish. Something that is completely unrivaled... He's in a sense immortalized himself for us by way of these works." He paused and smiled, "They're beautiful Mikey.. if there was ever the question in your mind as to whether or not we'd like these, then question no more little brother."

Indeed the paintings were something to be proud of, something worth remembering. There were ten smaller paintings surrounding one large centerpiece. In each of the smaller paintings was a person. One for each individual in the family; Master Splinter, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, April, Casey, Leatherhead, Klunk and even Spike. They were seemingly candid portraits, painted with such detail that one might mistake them for photos. Then the large centerpiece was a group portrait of them all together, smiles upon their faces and bright spirits about them. At the bottom in fancy calligraphy was written: Family is Forever.

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**Well that was kind of heart wrenching to write... Hope I didn't break any hearts too badly. It was a very random idea that came to mind. Sorry if the 'action' scene was kind of blah - I didn't want that to be the focus of this story. R&R if you so wish, tell me what you thought.**

**~Ghosties**


End file.
